Dive Brief:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Recyc-Mattress Corp. for multiple violations and hazards at its East Hartford, CT facility. The company faces nearly $75,000 in potential penalties.
• Issues included mattresses stacked in front of emergency exits, blocking access to a circuit breaker and an emergency exit door without a handle. Respirator training wasn't provided and a written hazard communication program for potentially dangerous chemicals was never developed. Employees were also allowed to fix a shredder without locking out its power source and shock hazards were created at an open junction box.
• The company has 15 business days to comply, meet the area OSHA director or contest the inspection before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Dive Insight:

OSHA inspected Recyc-Mattress last year and found 19 violations totaling up to $27,000. When the company didn't provide OSHA with proof that it had fixed these issues, inspectors came back in January for verification and found new problems.

"Employers have a responsibility to maintain safe and healthful working conditions for their employees and to promptly and effectively correct hazards so they don't recur. They should be aware that OSHA can and does follow up to verify corrective action," Warren Simpson, OSHA's area director in Hartford, said in a statement.

Companies that repeatedly ignore OSHA violations can end up in the Severe Violator Program which brings mandatory follow-up inspections among other consequences. New Jersey scrap metal recycler Park Stein Inc. landed in this program recently for failure to remedy recurring issues. OSHA also recently announced plans to raise its penalties for the first time since 1990 to keep pace with the Consumer Price Index as mandated by the 2016 federal budget.